Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Sydney Corcoran, 18, and her mother, Celeste, were injured in the April 15 attacks.

Lowell High School's senior prom is being held at Lowell Memorial Auditorium.

"I keep feeling like I'm going to cry because I'm just happy to be back. See now, I'm going to start crying. It's just really good to see everyone," Sydney told Newscenter 5's Mary Saladna.

She said this definitely became a goal during rehab.

"When I was in the hospital, I didn't think this was going to be possible. Then I got to the rehab and I was up and doing things. It felt like I could do it. So it was a goal. This and graduation -- definitely goals," she said.

Her friends are just so thrilled she is OK and was able to attend prom.

"She's loyal, trustworthy, she's just an amazing friend, (I) love her dearly," said one friend.

Sydney graduates from high school on June 7.

Sydney suffered near-fatal shrapnel wounds and a torn femoral artery.

Doctor's had to amputate both of her mother's legs below the knee.

The women had picked a prime spot along the course on Boylston Street to cheer Celeste's sister, Carmen Acabbo, who was running her first marathon.

"It was huge and I was so proud of her and I was going to be there at the finish line to see her. Then obviously the bomb happened," said Celeste.

"I heard screaming. I was just down on the ground and then I looked down and I saw my legs. I knew how bad it was, I saw how bad it was," she said. "I just kept saying over and over in my head, 'No, no this can't happen.'"

Her husband of 23 years, Kevin, jumped into action. He had no medical training, but she said it didn't matter.

"He kept touching my head and kept telling me that I was going to be OK. And he saved my life. He immediately took off his belt, he made a tourniquet. He stopped somebody and said, 'I need a belt,' so he put another one on me," she said.

"At that moment I remember saying, 'Where's Sydney?"

Sydney had her own hero, Matt Smith. He'd just left the Red Sox game and was a total stranger.

"He was saying, 'I want you to squeeze my hand, hold onto it. Stay with me, stay with me, bud.' He kept calling me 'Bud.' And he made sure he was right and close so I could see him and he kept asking me, 'Do you want me to stay with you?' And I tried telling him yes."